How Loud the Silence
by Bibbiddy-boo
Summary: Isabelle, a X5, is pursued by manticore......
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Like I said, I own nothing!

Ring, ring, ring.

Isabelle groaned and rolled over, knocking her alarm clock off her bedside table in her quest for silence. It kept up its racket on the floor, and sighing, Isabelle swung her legs out of her bed and turned it off.

Belle stretched as she sat on the edge of her bed before glancing around at her shabby surroundings. She didn't have a job, so she was forced to squat in one of the many derelict buildings that were supposed to be abandoned, along with about fourteen other teenagers.

The other people in the building were still asleep, and when Belle looked at her clock she saw it was only five in the morning. She brightened as she remembered what she had planned for the day – she was going to the local national park for a hike. 

Belle walked into the communal bathroom and splashed her face with cold water, before brushing her shoulder length curly hair. As she watched herself in the mirror, she reflected on how strange it was that she liked the forest. Especially since a lot of her training had been done in the woods back at Manticore… Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she went back into her room and got dressed – all in black of course. Black suited her, with her dark hair and eyes, and olive skin. 


	2. HLTS C2

A/N – Ok, sorry about the mess around people, but this is the first story that I've posted. I should probably mention that this fic is kinda AU, but only in some ways. Isabelle is basically Max with a different name. I decided to do this because I thought that her character might do some things that would get me lynched if I left it as max J I know that they're short chapters, but that's how it fits for me, so sorry if that annoys you. I can also say that I'll be posting slowly because I'm stuck right now, and ideas would be much appreciated! And even if you don't like it, can you please review and tell me what to fix? Thanks.

Oh, and I don't know if Logan is going to be involved yet, but ideas would help!

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There weren't many people were on the street as Belle left her building and headed out of the city on her bike. The forest she was visiting was the largest in the state – just recently a group of hikers had gone missing in the area and the authorities had yet to find them. 

Belle made good time, and arrived at the national park by six. She chained her bike to a nearby tree, and started off up the path. Only the most dedicated hikers got up this early, so the path was almost deserted, with only a  noisy couple in front of her.

The sound of them arguing echoed down the path to her – it sounded like the girl had just discovered that her boyfriend had forgotten their snack bag, and she was complaining she was hungry.

Belle snorted in disgust, and was just about to tell them to shut up when she heard a noise. It was kind of a scream, actually more of a muffled yelp, as though some one had been grabbed from behind and their mouth quickly covered.

Going against her instincts she decided to check it out – if someone was in trouble she might be able to help. She looked around to see if anyone was watching, and finding the track deserted aside from the arguing couple ahead of her, she stepped off the path and into the woods.

The leaves filtered the light, creating an eerie pattern of green on the forest floor. As she walked deeper into the woods, the sound of arguing gradually faded into the distance, allowing silence to settle over the woods.

Wait, that's wrong, she thought, shouldn't there be birds chirping or bunnies hopping, or something?

A sudden movement in the distance caught her eye – it was a black shape moving swiftly out of sight. She glanced around uneasily, and decided to head back to the path. A twig snapped behind her, but when she spun around no one was there. Suddenly an arm reached out from behind a tree and grabbed her jacket.  Twisting to escape the grabbing hands, she fled.

Belle ran through the undergrowth, ducking to avoid branches and jumping over fallen trees. She glanced behind her and saw a small army of men chasing her – at first there seemed to be at least twenty of them but when she counted there was fourteen. They were all dressed in the same black clothes and they all wore the same determined look on their faces.

Belle spun around just in time to see the cliff in front of her. She skidded to a halt and teetered on the edge of a ninety metre drop, looking down on the deep blue lake below. She took one more look behind her – the men were slowing down with smug looks on their faces, knowing she couldn't escape – and spun back around before jumping off the cliff.

She stretched out into a swan dive and disappeared smoothly into the water, barely making a splash. After a couple of minutes she resurfaced and swam to the edge of the lake before clambering out and taking off into the woods.

As she darted in between the trees, she glanced back up at the cliff and saw the men frantically trying to find a way down the sheer face of rock. Smiling to herself as she set out at an easy jog, she began putting more distance between herself and the mystery men. 


	3. HLTS C3

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N  Ok people, here's the next instalment. I know some of you may have been put off by the fact that this story doesn't have max in it (yet, the focus could still change), but I really think you should give it a go before judging it! And if it ends up being anything, of course it will be M/L. Is there any other way? That review button is just sitting there waiting for you to click it!

Oh, and I know that these chapters are short, but that's just how I write, so sorry!

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Donald Lydecker sat at his desk, massaging his temples with one hand while searching his computer files with the other. The phone sitting on his desk rang, and he sighed before reaching over and putting it on speaker phone.

'What now?' he snapped.

The man on the other end sounded nervous, and stuttered slightly as he spoke.

'Umm, we lost her. We closed in on her in the woods and trapped her against the edge of a cliff, but she jumped off it and…'

Lydecker cut in, his concern evident.

'She jumped of a cliff? How did you let that happen? Is she OK?'

'She jumped into a lake sir, she wasn't hurt at all. Actually, she ran off quite quickly…'

'How high was the drop?'

'It was about ninety metres sir, we were surprised that she was still alive, let alone able to run, so…'

He broke off in astonishment as Lydecker began to laugh.

'Sir?' he wondered.

'She fooled you all, didn't you read any of the information I gave you? X5's can survive much higher drops than that into water. I told you not to underestimate her. Tell your men to read the instructions before moving out. If you stuff this up again you're all out of a job.'

Lydecker disconnected the line and sat back, frowning slightly as he went back over the eventful past of this mission. There had been stuff up after stuff up, but now she was trapped in the woods, with no one to turn to for help.

He closed down the program he was using and opened a file, entering three classified passwords and one that only he knew, before a screen came up entitled Mission XE. 

Lydecker studied the page containing information on X5-361 - aka Isabelle, before sitting back in his chair, chuckling. He knew his kids were good, but jumping off a cliff? Oh well Isabelle, he thought as he smiled to himself, we're going to get you anyway, so why don't you relax and let it happen?

Of course he knew that would never happen - as much as some of his kids denied their training they were still soldiers, born and bred, and they acted accordingly.

He paged down till he reached the section entitled abilities, and began typing, a ghost of a smile still present on his face.


	4. HLTS C4

A/N    Ok, I haven't updated in ages, but I have to wonder if anyone out there has noticed………..oh well, in case there are some people reading this here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: As per other chapters 

Officer Luke Reynolds angrily snapped his cell phone shut. How dare Lydecker criticise the way his men handled the X5. How were they supposed to know that a seemingly fragile teenager would jump off a cliff? It was hard enough to believe that she was sixteen, she looked more like a twelve year old. She came across as so innocent and sheltered – though that's probably what they were aiming for when they made her. He didn't know much about the X5's -  although he worked for Manticore he was part of the street troops. But from the stories he'd heard, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing – there were stories of monsters kept in the basement, and training sessions where kids were held under water for impossible amounts of time… 

Luke shook his head – his mission was to recover the X5, not get sucked in by silly children's stories. The sunlight had leached out of the sky, and he returned to the clearing where his men were sitting, looking disgruntled. There was no way they were going to catch up to her before dark fell, she'd be long gone by now.

'Ok men, cheer up. She may have gotten away for now, but sitting around moping isn't going to help anyone. Let's get to the bottom of this cliff and we'll set up camp for the night.

His men slowly rose to their feet and marching singe file, they walked back the way they came, Luke coming last. As they trudged through the silent forest, Lydeckers words came back to him – 'if you stuff this up again, you're all out of a job..'  A shiver went down his spine as he realised the full meaning of these words – the information they all knew was classified, and they wouldn't simply be fired. 

Reaching the bottom of the cliff, his men began to set up camp as he pondered the best way to capture the X5.


End file.
